Monday, June 22, 2009

verdant used in a song

photo: 1959 (click picture to enlarge)

Looks Like Rain - 1969

When I left home and moved into SF, aside from

working, went to a few concerts.

I first heard this album played on KSAN,
an underground station. Its a beautiful
album. For those who don't know, his first
big hit was actually sung by Kenny Rogers
and the First Edition: Just Dropped In To
See What Condition My Condition Was In.

He wrote American Trilogy that Elvis
made famous, and on and on.

A musician friend and I saw MN at the
Boarding House in SF and had a chance
to meet him back stage. Back then, if you
hung around and asked, most artists at
the time were happy to say hello to you.

If his singing didn't make you cry a little,
I don't think anything would. He was as
nice and gentle a human being you'd want
to meet. I saw him 2 more times, once a
few years later at the Great American Music Hall,
when he played with only a violin player. Last time
was at Chucks Cellar in the S Bay area.

As an older friend says, to make a long story long,
in a recent post @ Grrl + Dog she used the word
"verdant" and I thought I had only heard that
word used in a song by Van Morrison. But while
listening to VM all day at work on my iPod, I
realized it was Mickey Newbury I was
thinking of, and here's the song from an
old LP, as in record and wax.



Heaven Help The Child - 1973
from the album by same title



15 comments:

Ténèbres à la lumière... said...

Hi! C.M.,
Nice! photograph, of two people
drinking coffee.(Circa 1959.)
and most definitely,
Nice! sounds by singer Mickey Newbury.
Thanks, for sharing!
DeeDee ;-D

ArtSparker said...

I should think there are a few traditional songs with that word...though I guess Blake passed up the chance with "Jerusalem" (England's green and pleasant land).

Kurt said...

Never heard of Mickey Newbury. Thanks for the introduction.

Anonymous said...

"Kenny Rogers and the First Edition"-haven't heard that group name in a while( love that tune, btw ). Never realised Mickey Newbury wrote that. I can "hear" what you indicate of his music moving one to tears. Nice and thanks for the re-intro. I'd forgotten about him. And like the new header, as well. And pic...

Sharlene said...

Hi Big Bro- and speaking of old friends- I received a message from Martin K!He is well and in East Bay.
I am gonna be walking thru your old home town Sausalito on Sat to speak with businesses about the Avon Breast Cancer Marathon and a half coming up that I am walking. This has so far been an incredible experience. I will think of you and the Sausalito memories while I am there. I love you ~ Lil Sis

mum said...

re collage: the Ontario San Antonio line is news to me, cm. What's in the luggage? a bicycle for the flat terrain?

Newbury: yes, I remember him. Love the line 'with a song that I can sing, one that I can keep'.

(the other day, I forgot to mention I like your new header. Verdant.) :-)

Coffee Messiah said...

dcd: Thanks for stopping by ; )

artS: Oh yes, I'm sure in a traditional, but I knew I heard from someone I listen to often.

kurt: His early work is quite nice.

subT: Live in concert, it was usually just him and his old nylon string guitar. He could evoke with his voice ways others did not. I've only gone out of my way to meet 2 people back stage, and he was one of them.

shar: He contacted me, but after seeing the blog, he never contacted me again. He's pure republican and not very open minded. You must have lunch at Avatars.

mum: Thanks so much! ; ) I'm probably going to change it again until I really like it.

Celeste Maia said...

What a great song by Mickey Newbury! Your musical background is all new to me so I am glad to be learning and widening mine.

Anonymous said...

OK, so we're gonn ahave a game now...

I'll come up with some other worthy words and you find a song with that word in it... he he..

glad it tickled your fancy. Package sailing up the planet.

Anonymous said...

I'd never heard the name Mickey N. till now. Gotta get out more often I guess!

tony said...

Thanks Coffee.
For Me, He was just a name I read....I had never really heard his Music before.'Nice To Put A [fine] Voice To the name.
Cheers
T.

Coffee Messiah said...

celeste: Thanks for taking a listen.

grrl: Oh no, it must have been the timing. Reading that one word tipped the brain back to a song not heard in a long time. Not sure I could do it again, you know, what with the brain I have and all ; (

hR9: He was played a lot on KSAN and played in the bay area at that time quite often. LLR was a hard album to find then too, 'cause I guess not too many were pressed?

tony: He wrote so many songs sang by others, I know you must have heard plenty of them. Thanks for taking a listen.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

verdant is one of my favorite words and phenomena .... of course van the man would use verdant ....after all he is from THE emerald isle

thanks for reminding me of mickey newbury - been a while since I thought of him, r.i.p.

great that you were able to see him!

Coffee Messiah said...

kimy: It was the MN song with it, not VM, although I thought it was.

helena.grantham@hotmail.fr said...

Hi,

I'm a french granny, and I knew very well Mickey Newbury by a friend of mine: Helena Grantham,writer et poetry.

To know Mickey is to love Mickey she used to say. She have included Newbury's name in all of hers novels

Both two are in heaven now, the singer and the writer, but I guess they're singing in the sparrow

Forgive my english, I usualy speak french (lol).
Thank you for you weblog speaking so well about Mickey Newbury.

Lueur (friend and webmaster of Lena's blog)